Monthly Archives: January 2012

It’s official. As of today, the edited draft of No Wake Zone heads off to the nice people over at Thomas & Mercer. I still have more tasks ahead, finalizing the promotional text and looking over cover designs. The wheels are already turning at T&M for a spring release, and as soon as I have more official info I’ll be posting it here. But as for writing No Wake Zone, I’m done.

Done. Time to kick back, catch my breath, and catch up on life outside the madness of my fictional world. Yep. Done. No more dealing with my admittedly insane characters, who really need some lessons in communication skills and still refuse to play nice. I’m done. Finished.

I can relax.

Or not. Already my muses are whining like a bunch of bored, restless children on a long road-trip. They won’t shut up. No. They want mayhem! They want chaos! They’re plotting away; they want my crazy characters to pull off a heist, and not get themselves killed or kill anyone else (unless absolutely necessary, and we all know how that goes,) in the process. And the forecast doesn’t look good.

So yes, the gang will return. We’re out of the No Wake Zone, and now it’s time to make some waves. Lots of waves, in fact, because there’s a hurricane headed this way, and as of this morning, I’ve already started work on book three:Evacuation Route.

Like this:

I suppose I have to laugh. It is pretty funny, actually, how the strangest, most unexpected things can bring you to a halt, or at least pretty damned close.

Editor Dave and I have been working practically non-stop at wrapping up the edits on No Wake Zone, and we’re closing in on the finish, so Hooray! But Sunday afternoon I had to step away from the computer for a brief time to run some errands, one of which put me out on Route 80, cruising along in the fast lane, when all at once my dashboard lit up like it was Christmas. Specifically, the ‘Check Engine’ light, along with the glow plug indicator, which was blinking away insistently.

WTF??? Everything felt okay. Fortunately my exit was coming up, so I slowed and looped onto the Parkway, rolled through the EZpass lane, then downshifted to pull into the next exit, right after the tolls…. and…. meh. Worse than meh. We’re talking about my little turbocharged diesel Jetta with a sport-tuned suspension, which normally drives like a rocket, but the most it could do was putter along feebly with the anemic performance you’d expect from something that gets 45+ mpg, while traffic whizzed past. To say I was distressed would be a bit of an understatement.

Long story short, it was still under warranty, so straight back to the dealer it went, and was returned to me hours later in its proper, feisty, tire-smoking order. And the cause for this brief lapse into anemic performance? MICE! Apparently, still displeased about being evicted from my basement last summer, they decided the cozy warmth of the little diesel in the driveway would serve as housing, and while they were nestled in and keeping warm, one industrious rodent decided the wiring to my turbo seemed like a tasty snack.

Mice. Really. Now I have to figure out how to keep mice out from under the hood! Any ideas, anyone?

Okay, it’s back to work for me. In the coming weeks there will be a number of updates – things are starting to happen in a big way. But before I go, here’s a link to last Thursday’s Write On The Water post:The K.I.S.S. approach to Cruising…

Like this:

Yes, I knew they’d be coming, and I’m currently working my way through the edits on No Wake Zone. Once again, it’s my wonderful editor, David, showing me the forest for all the trees in his insightful and often humorous way. But as with Last Exit, this phase has become all-encompassing, monopolizing my time and focus, and in the process I’ve let some other things slide, least of which being this blog. Put it this way: Readers may wonder where I get my ideas for Hammon’s diet, attire and general behavior — but anyone who knows me personally has no doubts. (And yes, I do eat Pringles while I work.) That aside, I’ve been good about checking in with Write on the Water, and here’s a run-down of the last four Thursday’s posts:

On that last post, I should have included posting here more regularly, which is on my list of intentions. The upcoming months promise to be busy ones, and between the launch of two books and some exciting work we have planned this year for Annabel Lee, I should have plenty to post about.

Like this:

“A mystery in the John D. MacDonald tradition – both in its largely watery setting and tone, the novel also brings to mind Dashiell Hammett in the complexity of its plot, and even Stieg Larsson in its use of a strong young woman with an attitude as a main character. Last Exit In New Jersey is well-paced, densely-plotted story that mystery-thriller fans will enjoy immensely.”
~ Alex Austin, author of The Red Album of Asbury Park Remixed

Hazel Moran, the tough truck-driving amateur sleuth introduced in Last Exit in New Jersey, returns in this dark and twisting sequel.